St. Louis Rams

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St Louis Rams

Year founded: 1936
Helmet Logo
City	St. Louis, Missouri
Team colors	New Century Gold, Millennium Blue, and White
Head Coach	Scott Linehan
Owner	Georgia Frontiere and E. Stanley Kroenke
General manager	Charlie Armey
League/Conference affiliations
National Football League (1937–present) Western Division (1937-1949) National Conference (1950-1952) Western Conference (1953-1969) Coastal Division (1967-1969) National Football Conference (1970-present) NFC West (1970-present)
Team history
Cleveland Rams (1936-1945) Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994) St Louis Rams (1995–present)
Championships
League Championships (3) NFL Championships (2) 1945, 1951 Super Bowl Championships (1) 1999 (XXXIV)
Conference Championships (6) NFL National: 1950, 1951 NFL Western: 1955 NFC: 1979, 1999, 2001
Division Championships (15) NFL West: 1945, 1949 NFL Coastal: 1967, 1969 NFC West: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1985, 1999, 2001, 2003
Home fields
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (1937, 1939-1941, 1945) League Park (1937, 1942, 1944-1945) Shaw Stadium (1938) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1946-1979) Anaheim Stadium (1980-1994) Busch Memorial Stadium (First half of 1995 season) Edward Jones Dome (Second half of the 1995 season-present) a.k.a. Trans World Dome (1995-2000) a.k.a. Dome at America's Center (2001)

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team has won two NFL Championships and one Super Bowl.

The Rams began playing in 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the 1936-37 American Football League. Although the NFL granted membership to the same owner, this new NFL franchise technically became a separate entity since only four of the players (William "Bud" Cooper, Harry "The Horse" Mattos, Stan Pincura, Mike Sebastian) and none of the team's personnel joined the new NFL team.^[1]

The team then became known as the Los Angeles Rams after the club moved to Los Angeles, California in 1946. The Rams then played at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California in 1980, keeping the Los Angeles name. The club relocated to St. Louis in 1995.^[2]

Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Cleveland Rams (1936-1945) 1.2 Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994) 1.3 St Louis Rams (1995-present) 2 Logo and uniforms 3 Players 3.1 Current players 3.2 Pro Football Hall of Famers 3.3 Retired numbers 4 Staff 4.1 Head coaches 4.2 Current Staff 5 See also 6 External links 7 Notes and references

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] Cleveland Rams (1936-1945)

The Cleveland Rams were founded by attorney Homer Marshman in 1936. They were part of the newly formed American Football League. The following year they joined the National Football League and were placed in the Western division to replace the St. Louis Gunners, who disbanded after the 1934 season.^{[citation needed]} From the beginning, they were a team marked by frequent moves playing in three stadiums over several losing seasons. The franchise suspended operations and sat out the 1943 season because of a shortage of players during World War II and resumed playing in 1944.^[3] The team finally achieved success in 1945, which proved to be their last season in Ohio, achieving a 9-1 record and winning their first NFL Championship, a 15-14 home field victory over the Washington Redskins on December 16.^[4]

[edit] Los Angeles Rams (1946-1994)

In 1980, owner Carol Rosenbloom moved the team to Anaheim from LA. One of the main reasons being that the coliseum did not have box seats. Rosenbloom was petitioned by Orange County Supervisor, Ralph Clark. Clark got California Angels owner, Gene Autry to Ok the remodel of Anaheim Stadium to accommodate the Rams. Ralph Clark also was the founder of the Los Angeles Rams Booster Club.

[edit] St Louis Rams (1995-present)

For details about the current season, see 2006 St. Louis Rams season.

[edit] Logo and uniforms

The Rams became the first professional American football team to have a logo on their helmets. Ever since halfback Fred Gehrke painted ram horns on the team's helmets in 1948, the logo has been the club's trademark.

When the team debuted in 1937, the Rams' colors were red and black, featuring red helmets and black uniforms with red shoulders and sleeves. One year later they would switch their team colors to yellow and blue, with yellow helmets, white pants and blue uniforms. The Rams switched to yellow uniforms in the mid 1940s. When Gehrke introduced the horns, they were painted yellow on blue helmets. During the late 1950s, the team wore blue jerseys again.

In 1965, the colors were changed to blue and white. The helmets became blue with white rams horns, the uniform design was changed to white pants and either blue or white jerseys. When George Allen was named head coach in 1966, he had the Rams wear their white jerseys at home, a tradition that continued through the 1971 season under Tommy Prothro. Prothro switched the Rams to the blue jerseys at home in 1972, the final season of the blue and white combination.

The colors reverted back to yellow and blue in 1973. The new uniform design consisted of gold pants and curling rams horns on the sleeves – yellow horns on the blue jerseys and blue horns on the white jerseys. The white jerseys had yellow sleeves.

The team's colors where changed from yellow and blue to gold and navy blue in 2000. A new logo of a ram head was added to the sleeves and gold stripes were added to the sides of the jerseys. The helmet design essentially remains the same as it was in 1948, except for updates to the coloring, navy blue field with gold horns.

In 2003, the Rams wore blue pants with their white jerseys for a pair of early-season games, but after losses to the New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks, the Rams reverted to gold pants with their white jerseys. In 2005, the Rams wore an all-blue combination for games against the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.

Los Angeles Rams helmet logo used from 1964-1972; note the white and blue

Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams helmet logo used from 1973-1999; note the yellow and blue

St. Louis Rams helmet logo used from 2000-present; note the gold and navy blue

Cleveland Rams Logo.

Los Angeles Rams Logo.

St. Louis Rams script logo used from 1995-1999; note the representation of St. Louis' Gateway Arch.

[edit] Players

See also: List of St. Louis Rams players

[edit] Current players

Depth Chart		St. Louis Rams roster as of Nov. 7th 2006
Offensive backs 10 Marc Bulger QB 11 Ryan Fitzpatrick QB 12 Gus Frerotte QB 31 Paul Smith FB 33 Kay-Jay Harris RB 39 Steven Jackson RB 44 Madison Hedgecock FB 45 Chris Massey FB/LS 48 Stephen Davis RB Receivers 80 Isaac Bruce WR 81 Torry Holt WR 82 Joe Klopfenstein TE 83 Kevin Curtis WR 84 Shaun McDonald WR/PR 86 Dominique Byrd TE 87 Aaron Walker TE 88 Willie Ponder WR/KOR 89 Dane Looker WR/PKH Kickers 1 Matt Turk P 14 Jeff Wilkins K		Offensive line 62 Adam Timmerman G 63 Larry Turner C 64 Adam Haayer G/OT 65 Brett Romberg C 66 Mark Setterstrom G 68 Richie Incognito C 70 Alex Barron OT 72 Adam Goldberg OT 79 Todd Steussie G Linebackers 50 Pisa Tinoisamoa OLB 51 Will Witherspoon ILB 52 Dexter Coakley OLB 54 Brandon Chillar OLB 56 Raonall Smith OLB 57 Jon Alston OLB 58 Isaiah Kacyvenski ILB		Defensive backs 20 Chidi Iwuoma CB 21 Oshiomogho Atogwe FS 23 Jerametrius Butler CB 24 Ronald Bartell FS 25 Corey Chavous SS 26 Tye Hill CB 27 Dwaine Carpenter FS 34 Fakhir Brown CB 42 Jerome Carter SS Defensive line 73 Jimmy Kennedy DT 91 Leonard Little DE 92 Eric Moore DE 93 Brandon Green DE 94 Victor Adeyanju DE 96 Jason Fisk DT 97 La'Roi Glover DT 99 Claude Wroten DT		Practice squad 15 Marques Hagans WR 17 Dominique Thompson WR 35 John David Washington RB 36 Fred Russell RB 49 Mark Anelli TE 59 Tim McGarigle ILB 71 Tim Sandidge DT 77 Drew Strojny OT Physically unable to perform 28 Marshall Faulk RB Reserve/Retired 22 Travis Fisher CB 30 Tony Fisher RB 67 Andy McCollum C 75 Claude Terrell G 76 Orlando Pace OT

[edit] Pro Football Hall of Famers

These Rams, and St. Louis Cardinals Hall-of-Famers Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Larry Wilson, are honored in the Ring of Honor at the Edward Jones Dome. Only Slater, however, played for the Rams in St. Louis, and then only for the inaugural 1995 season.

Ollie Matson (33), Andy Robustelli (81), Dick "Night Train" Lane (also 81), coach Dutch Clark, general manager Tex Schramm, GM and later NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, and coach Sid Gillman are also members of the Hall of Fame, but were elected on the basis of their performances with other teams or (in the case of Rozelle) NFL administration. Dick Vermeil has become the first and still only St. Louis Rams figure inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Cardinals inducted into it include Dierdorf, Smith, Wilson, Conrad Dobler, Jim Hart and coach Jim Hanifan.

Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams Hall of Famers
No.	Player	Class	Position(s)	Years Played
--	George Allen	2002	Coach	1966-1970
76	Bob Brown	2004	OT	1969-1970
29	Eric Dickerson	1999	RB	1983-1987
55	Tom Fears	1970	End	1948-1956
40	Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch	1968	RB, WR	1949-1957
75	Deacon Jones	1980	DE	1961-1971
65	Tom Mack	1999	G	1966-1978
74	Merlin Olsen	1982	DT	1962-1976
--	Dan Reeves	1967	Owner	1941-1971
78	Jackie Slater	2001	OT	1976-1995
78	Norm Van Brocklin	1971	QB, P	1949-1957
7	Bob Waterfield	1965	QB, DB, K, P	1945-1952
85	Jack Youngblood	2001	DE	1974-1984

[edit] Retired numbers

• 7 Bob Waterfield
• 29 Eric Dickerson
• 74 Merlin Olsen
• 78 Jackie Slater
• 85 Jack Youngblood

[edit] Staff

[edit] Head coaches

Name	From	To	Record				Titles[5]
			W	L	T	%
?	1936	1936	5	2	2	.666	0
Hugo Bezdek[6]	1937	1938	1	13	0	.071	0
Art Lewis	1938	1938	4	4	0	.500	0
Dutch Clark	1939	1942	16	26	2	.386	0
Buff Donelli	1944	1944	4	6	0	.400	0
Adam Walsh	1945	1946	16	5	1	.772	1
Bob Snyder	1947	1947	6	6	0	.500	0
Clark Shaughnessy	1948	1949	6	6	0	.500	0
Joe Stydahar[7]	1950	1952	19	9	0	.678	1
Hamp Pool	1952	1954	23	11	2	.666	0
Sid Gillman	1955	1959	28	32	1	.467	0
Bob Waterfield[8]	1960	1962	9	24	1	.288	0
Harland Svare	1962	1965	14	31	3	.322	0
George Allen	1966	1970	49	19	4	.708	0
Tommy Prothro	1971	1972	14	12	2	.835	0
Chuck Knox	1973	1977	57	20	1	.737	0
Ray Malavasi	1978	1982	43	36	0	.394	0
John Robinson	1983	1991	79	74	0	.516	0
Chuck Knox	1992	1994	15	33	0	.312	0
Rich Brooks	1995	1996	13	19	0	.406	0
Dick Vermeil	1997	1999	25	26	0	.490	1
Mike Martz[9]	2000	2005	56	36	0	.608	0
Joe Vitt	2005	2005	4	7	0	.363	0
Scott Linehan	January 19, 2006	present	4	2	0	.666	0

[edit] Current Staff

• Head Coach - Scott Linehan
• Offensive Coordinator - Greg Olson
• Defensive Coordinator - Jim Haslett
• Special Teams Coach - Bob Ligashesky
• Quarterbacks Coach - Doug Nussmeier
• Running Backs Coach - Wayne Moses
• Wide Receivers Coach - Henry Ellard
• Tight Ends Coach - Judd Garrett
• Offensive Line Coach - Paul Boudreau
• Offensive Assistant - Jeff Horton
• Defensive Line Coach - Brian Baker
• Linebackers Coach - Rick Venturi
• Defensive Backs Coach - Willt Robinson
• Defensive Assistant - Todd Downing
• Strength and Conditioning - Dana LeDuc

[edit] See also

• The Greatest Show on Turf
• NFL in Los Angeles

[edit] External links

• St. Louis Rams official web site
• Los Angeles Rams
• Pro Football Reference Rams index
• the Georgia Frontiere story
• Planet Rams
• Rams Re-Locate
• the "Greatest Show on Turf" ends
• Sports E-Cyclopedia.com
• RamsFootball.com

[edit] Notes and references

Saint Louis Rams
The Club • History • Players • Seasons • Statistics Edward Jones Dome • The Greatest Show on Turf • Fearsome Foursome
League Championships (3)
1945 • 1951 • 1999

Cleveland/L.A./St. Louis Rams Head Coaches
Bezdek • Lewis • Clark • Donelli • Walsh • Snyder • Shaughnessy • Stydahar • Pool • Gillman • Waterfield • Svare • Allen • Prothro • Knox • Malavasi • Robinson • Knox • Brooks • Vermeil • Martz • Vitt • Linehan

The National Football League (2006)
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	New York Giants	Detroit Lions	Carolina Panthers	St. Louis Rams
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